SHAH ALAM: Some 500 orphans will be among the 70,000-strong crowd expected at the 18th edition of Sultan of Selangor Cup to be played at the Shah Alam Stadium on Aug 24.
Sultan of Selangor Cup organising chairman Tan Sri Abdul Karim Munisar said the aim was to allow the underprivilleged children to experience the big match atmosphere between traditional football rivals Selangor and Singapore.
“We should not only have them in mind during Ramadan. We hope to give them a wonderful experience and their presence will definitely add colour to the much-awaited match,” he said, after handing over close to 16,000 tickets to 21 Selangor-based football fan clubs at SACC Mall earlier.
Karim said over 30,000 tickets had been sold and was confident more will be snapped up close to match day.
Singapore, he said, will have 40 busloads of fans travelling to Shah Alam to watch the match.
Meanwhile, getting the much-coveted ticket to Sultan of Selangor Cup is a motivation for 12-year-old Mohd Amirul Junda to study hard for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) trials which starts on Monday.
Amirul who stays at Rumah Kasih Harmoni Paya Jaras, said he was over the moon when he received news that he would be able to watch the match live at the stadium.
“I am a huge fan of football. Whenever I play with friends, I assume the striker position.
“I am very excited and looking forward to the match. It will my second time only watching a football game at a stadium. This is a dream come true.
“However, I have to get through my UPSR trials first next week. Only then I can relax and enjoy the game. That is my motivation to study hard,” said Amirul, who attends school at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Plong.
Yayasan Islam Darul Ehsan (YIDE) corporate communications officer Muhammad Hafiz Bahari said orphans from 15 homes under its supervision will be taken to watch the match.
He hoped more orphans would be given the chance to watch the match in the future.